Chapter 7: 7 | Smoke and mirrors

The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence.

It is nothing but love and emotion; it is the Living Infinite.

—Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

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 I used to believe that nothing in this world could ever scare me. 

I had witnessed, I had heard, I had judged all the sins and all the evil this world could offer before me. I had stared into the eyes of monsters, weighed countless souls that committed unspeakable atrocities without a shred of remorse. None ever fazed me in the slightest from doing my sole duty to the world.

Why, the fear, the very notion of my existence has haunted every living being that walked upon this earth. What could possibly strike terror in the non-existent heart of Death? 

But when I lay my gaze on the girl who was neither dead nor alive, I could feel a strange emotion stirring up within me. A tingly, chilling sensation that didn't quite sit right. Yet, it wasn't an unfamiliar one. I had felt it before only once—in the moment when I witnessed the armageddon unfold before my eyes. 

Is this the emotion of fear? I found myself wondering about that as I continued to hum my levenslied. 

It took two moons for the girl to show the slightest sign of progress. It was barely perceptible to the eye, but I could feel a weak flow of air coming in and out of her chest. She was starting to breathe again.

With a tired groan, I ceased my incantation and recast the barrier around her, making sure to purify the air within. Honestly, if I had known just how draining it would be to resurrect a person, I would probably just give up from the start. At least death comes as swift and painless...no no no, I shouldn't indulge in that tempting thought. 

"You and I deserve a short break for now," I said absent-mindedly as I prepared to leave. "Don't go dying suddenly on me while I'm gone, you understand? I hate to see my hard work go to waste."

It wasn't until a moment later that I registered how ironic my comment sounded. Here am I, attempting something that is the complete opposite of what I should be doing in the first place, and now I'm actively trying to prevent a human from dying when her natural time has passed. What in the world have I become? 

I mused over this question for a long while as I strolled through the silent moonlit city. But the answer, just like those to the questions that I had posed before, eluded my mind all the same. 

Finally, I paused my heavy footsteps. A tramcar flipped onto its side laid perpendicular across the rubble-filled street in front of me, creating a dead end that blocked my way. Breathing a long sigh, I turned around and surveyed my surroundings for the first time. Remnants of giant billboards hung precariously off the sides of the derelict buildings lining the street. A row of melted wax mannequins stared at me from behind a burned-down shopfront. 

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"This place...could it be a shopping street?" I wondered aloud. I had amassed a stockpile of water and sustenance inside the room where I found the girl, but on second thought, would those be enough for a human being? I remembered that they covered themselves in 'clothes' and carried around accessories such as a 'cell phone'. Without such frivolous additions, would the girl be alright when she wakes up?

Well then...perhaps it would be a good idea to add them to my stockpile. Making my decision, I ignited a flame on my palm to illuminate my path and entered the largest building along the street. 

Its layout, I realised after walking around the interior, was remarkably familiar. Once, Life had brought me to a building similar to this—a building which she called a 'department store'. I remember gazing up at a ceiling so high that it seemingly reached the skies, and going up on moving stairways unlike anything I had seen before. 

You see, these are all invented and built by humans alone. Some have already ceased to live, but their legacies continue to live on here, she said then. Isn't it wonderful that a single fleeting life can bring about such a tremendous impact to many others after it? Just like how a small ripple in the sea can spread and become a huge wave.

I blinked, and the memory dissipated into nothingness as quickly as it had flashed into my mind. But in the back of my mind, the echoes of her voice still lingered. 

Don't you...think so too, Death? 

"I should get going soon," I muttered to no one in particular as I quickly packed the supplies that I had gathered from my search. Yet in the end, I didn't leave till the first break of dawn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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